


Hero for a Week

by BooksandComicBooks



Category: Original Work
Genre: A secret brought to the grave, Gen, Heroism, Pranks and Practical Jokes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-07 07:35:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19204822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BooksandComicBooks/pseuds/BooksandComicBooks
Summary: Corey has always dreamed that someday, he'd get his call to adventure. He knew he was made for better things. Finally he's getting his chance, but it might not be exactly what he thinks it is.





	Hero for a Week

Corey woke up to what should have been a perfectly normal morning. For most of his routine, it was.

Then on his way out of his apartment building, he checked his mail.

He hadn't ordered anything, which was why the large box with his name on it, left carelessly on the floor, was strange. Stranger still was the fact that there was no return adress, and his name and box number seemed to have been scrawled on with a black sharpie.

Corey, being much more curious than suspicious by nature, opened the box right there.

There were 7 items, each labelled with a day. He picked up the one for Monday, an old hammer with flaky red paint.

Confused, he decided to read the note.

"Dear Corey," it said, "the world needs help. Specifically, the world needs a hero, and you seemed like the right guy for the job.

In this box are 7 tools, one for each day for the next week. If you use them wisely, you can save many innocent lives.

Good luck."

The letter was signed The Management.

Corey didn't know how to feel. Elated, for sure. This was the best thing ever! But also really, really nervous.

Would he be up to the task?

Suddenly there was a crash outside. Corey ran outside so fast he didn't stop to put down the hammer he still held in his hand. He swiveled his head around quickly, looking for the source of the crash, and saw a car that had run off the overpass and had landed directly on a passing bus. He raced towards it, registering that the car hadn't completely crushed the bus, but people were still trapped under the dented roof. Most of them were too busy panicking to bust open the side windows, but Corey knew he would be able to save them.

He half-tossed the hammer as he ran, feeling the weight of it in his palm. The old metal had chipped, he'd noticed, and that pointed edge should be just enough to crack glass. He got up to the side of the bus and shouted "out of my way!" to the people gathered nearby. Then he planted his left foot, hauled back... and smashed a side window as hard as he could.  
**

Nearby, hiding close to the entrance of Corey's apartement building, two of his closest friends were starring in a combination of amazed "Oh, shit!" and guilty "Oh, shit!"

They watched Corey pull survivors out of the bus, while they stood there, completely unable to move from shock.

"Did you know..." one of them started to ask.

"Of course not," the other half-muttered. "Would you?"

They were quiet for a minute. Sirens wailed in the background.

"...Did we just... I don't know, create a, um... a Chosen One?"

"I mean..." he gulped. "I mean that's not possible..."

"What did you put for Tuesday's item?"

"You don't think we're just going to let him continue believing this nonsense?!"

The other pointed. "That looks pretty damn real to me, man."

There was a longer silence. Now that everybody was saved from the bus, Corey was running around, grabbing water and blankets for the survivors.

"...Tuesday was a maracas with glitter on it."

"Ok, see, that's not so bad, I mean what trouble could he possibly get into..."

"...And Wednesday was rope and duct tape."

His friend smacked him. "What is wrong with you? We have to tell him!"

"He might already be too far gone. I mean just look at him." Corey was comforting everyone he spoke to, letting people hug him for saving them. "Even if the box was a joke, he's a real hero now."

"He's not..." Pause. "...I mean..."

"Maybe," his friend started hopefully, "maybe he'll actually do a lot of real good? If he does something like this again..."

"I'm gonna tell him." He started to walk forward.

"Do you really want to stop this?"

Pause.

"...He could get killed trying to be a hero."

"Well, 'Management' never said he was immortal. He might be careful."

"This is Corey we're talking about."

"...Yeah. He's a bit of an idiot."

The two men smiled fondly at their friend in the distance. As much as they always made fun of him for believing in heroics, it turned out that Corey really could rise to a challenge.

"...This ends Sunday, right?"

"With a water pistol filled with grape juice, yeah."

"How much trouble could he possibly get into by then? And then by next Monday, he'll be all happy and proud, and we'll die with this secret."

"Oh, absolutely," he raised his hand to shake on it, "I'm never gonna tell anyone."

They shook hands. Corey picked up his magic hammer and started back towards his apartment.

The two friends looked at each other.

"He can never know," they said together.

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted under r/writingprompts on Reddit, and I thought I'd punch it up a little and bring it here. This is my first post on AO3, so please leave a review! :)


End file.
